FULTON COUNTY, Ga. (TCN) — A grand jury has returned an 80-count indictment against a 42-year-old woman accused of killing her ex-girlfriend in 2007.
The remains of 24-year-old Nicole Alston were found in burning bags on Dec. 6, 2007, alongside a rural road, WSB reports. Her head, hands, and feet were missing. The case went unsolved for 18 years until advances in DNA testing and genealogical research helped Alston’s remains to be identified.
WTVM reports that in December 2023, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office learned the remains were Alston’s and that her last known place of residence was in New York City. Angel Marie Thompson was arrested on Aug. 19, 2024, and charged with concealing Alston’s death.
WSB reports that over the course of the investigation, authorities learned Thompson allegedly assumed Alston’s identity and collected government and housing benefits in her name; authorities estimated the fraud totaled $200,000.
At the time of Thompson’s arrest, People reported investigators believed Alston was killed because she wanted to return to New York, but Thompson could not due to her outstanding warrants.
Thompson’s arrest warrant read, “The suspect may not have wanted to lose the financial support, so the victim was murdered and the suspect assumed her identity and continued to live as the victim,” according to People.
A grand jury handed up the indictment in February 2025, and charges include malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing a death, and dozens of counts related to fraud and identity theft, WSB reports. Cold case investigator Clay Bryant said, “I thought I’d seen everything until I saw this.”
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